Colts' Quenton Nelson is so good, he's making offensive line highlights a thing

Colts guard Quenton Nelson has lived up to the hype. Billed as a generational offensive line talent before the draft, Nelson needed only a few months to establish himself as one of the league’s very best linemen, landing a spot on the NFL All-Pro team after his rookie campaign.

Nelson isn’t quite a household name — it takes years of dominance for a lineman to reach that status — but he did take a major step toward becoming one when his pancake block on Jadeveon Clowney went viral during the Colts’ 21-7 win over the Texans in the Wild Card round.

The highlight sparked a Twitter debate over the legality of Nelson’s block. Some argued the rookie should have been called for holding, and, judging by the end zone angle, those people were probably right…

But that wasn’t Nelson’s only highlight of the game. In fact, you could put together a reel with all of the splash plays he made in Houston.

I’m not an expert on offensive line technique, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate how dominant Nelson was against the Texans.

You don’t need to know about proper hand placement, or footwork to realize what he’s doing here is special.

You don’t need to be able to recognize a “good punch” or “strong anchor” to understand that blocking both J.J. Watt and Clowney on the same play is pretty good.

Or that stone-walling Watt one-on-one requires tremendous skill.

Or that offensive linemen shouldn’t be able to move this well.

Or that this is an impressive feat of strength.

Here’s the crazy thing: All of those highlights are from the first quarter alone! Nelson is a human highlight film. With all due respect to Joe Thomas, Larry Allen, Anthony Muñoz and all of the great linemen throughout NFL history, I’d argue Nelson has a chance to go down as the league’s first true superstar lineman; a lineman who is appreciated by die-hards and casual fans alike. The Odell Beckham Jr. of blockers. The Barry Sanders of guards.

The Colts offensive line received plenty of love after its dominant performance against the Texans, and that will continue if Indianapolis can somehow upset the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday. Regardless of the outcome, I can guarantee one thing: No. 56 will provide us with plenty of highlights.

Colts' Quenton Nelson is so good, he's making offensive line highlights a thing

The Colts rookie has already made enough splash plays to fill a highlight reel.

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